A lower court had blocked the Republican-backed law that made it a state crime to enter Iowa after being deported or denied entry to the United States.

A U.S. appeals court refused on Friday to allow Iowa to implement a law allowing for the arrest and prosecution of people who are in the United States illegally.

Every section of the Iowa statute is likely in conflict with federal immigration law, the federal appeals court found — noting that the U.S. Supreme Court has “long recognized the preeminent role of the Federal Government with respect to the regulation of aliens within our borders.”

Iowa can't enforce its own immigration law, U.S. appeals court says. But with Justice Department in new hands, future of statute unclear